Back to the grind-stone!

Well, according to the calendar, there's still one more week until fall, but let me tell ya...summer vacation is definitely over. We've had so much fun this year, I almost (yeah that's right, almost) didn't want to send them back to school. I mean, who wants to go from sleeping until 9, lazily eating your breakfast while watching Imagination*Movers, finally throwing on shorts, a t-shirt & flip flops, then finding out which fun place around town Mom'll take you to today, playing there most of the day, getting Sonic*slushies and french fries with some kind of greasy kids meal, then playing with friends the rest of the day, catching fireflies and staying up until it actually gets dark...to up before 8am, having to actually sit at the table for breakfast, no TV, having to (can you believe this one) wear SOCKS and tennis shoes, can't even choose your own outfit, hurrying out the door and then sitting in school all day, ya get home only to do homework, get a little time to play or watch TV, then suddenly it's dinner (oh and now mom's making new things every few days, so ya never know if you're even going to eat anything that night...it might be gross!) and before you know it, you're in the tub and going to bed...even before the sun goes down! And who wants to go from playing in the sun with happy kids all day to crazy-how-the-heck-am-I-going-to-get-them-out-of-bed-and-to-school-on-time mornings and recovering this house from the mess of summer!? Not to mention the fact that now these kids have to cram all the noise and chaos of one whole day into just those precious few hours from 4-7pm! No wonder we had a rough start!

Good thing they're so darn cute!

Things really did start of a bit rocky. Lulu, my incredibly smart perfectionist, who has never gotten anything wrong during her first 3 years of school (yeah, I think her intelligence was inherited from her Grandparents!) was now struggling with timed addition and subtraction tests. She was actually getting some problems wrong or running out of time and was really stressing out over it. So she decided that she just wouldn't go to school...made for some challenging mornings! Even the principal couldn't get her out of the car one day! Finally she let me in on what was bothering her, so after a quick phone call to the teacher...problem solved! We got a couple of blank tests to take at home with NO PRESSURE from the clock to boost that confidence! She's passed every test since then!
Big Butter...it's been a big transition for this guy. His former preschool closed down in May, leaving us scurrying to find a new school that would meet his needs and have an opening for this fall! Luckily we found one right around the corner! It's fabulous! This Pre-K is truly just like Kindergarten, only it costs a whole lot more! It's a private school, so he wears a uniform and they have pretty high expectations (like they count tardies...yeah, we're lucky they don't hand out detentions for every 3rd one!) but they also have so much more to offer. They go across the street to the "Big School" for art, music and library; have computer classes, a "Good Citizen" program and...nap time! So far he's loving everything but the dreaded nap time! This kid hasn't slept during the day for about 3 years! So when he was told he had to lie down on a mat and do nothing for 45 minutes, well, he decided he wasn't going to school anymore either! Of course he waited over a week to tell me what the problem was too, so it was a little crazy around here from 7:30-8:32 for a while! Finally I was able to tell the teacher just why he was so late everyday and she immediately solved that problem too! No more nap time for the only kid in the class who doesn't sleep! This very happy boy now gets up on time, is dressed and out the door with out stress! Now that he gets to do puzzles, read books or some other quiet activity during nap time, he comes home with a huge smile and says those three precious words, "I LOVE SCHOOL!"

Baby Butter had a hard time too. He really missed having his big brother and sister around. He's adjusting to having mom all to himself (and not having to share or take turns and getting to choose what he wants for lunch, TV, music, etc!) pretty well now, but still gets SO excited when they come home!As for me and my transition...pretty smooth! I have finally been able to get to that big "To Do List" that's been hanging over my head all summer. I get 30-90 minutes of quiet, alone time during the day when Baby Butter is "napping!" (total hit or miss...what's the deal with my kids not sleeping during the day!?) The best part is, that I still have my Baby Butter home, so I don't have to completely give up my playtime...It's just really weird to go places with only one little 2 year old!